Heavens above….

Cristian and I are about a third of the way through our portraits of people whose lives are affected by motor neurone disease.

On some shoots we’ve had the help of photographic assistant James Roberts – @robertsjames – who’s given his time on a cost only basis to help our campaign – Thanks James!

Here he is, getting almost as soaked as an ice bucket challenge nominee, taking the kit down…. it’s tough training to be a photographer! I’m not sure whether he’ll appreciate these pictures of him in action, but to any photographers looking for an assistant, he seems to know his stuff (and he took most of these photos).

We had been photographing the retired vicar Michael Wenham who’s written a book about his experience of living with MND.

Dark clouds were rolling above us during the shoot and thankfully Michael and I made it back inside just as the heavens opened!

Michael’s book is called My Donkey Body and is a personal description of his experience of gradually losing control of his body beginning with his ability to speak to parishioners and then to even walk or do virtually anything by himself. He still has a wonderful and infectious laugh though, and he laughs a lot!

He has had PLS – the same type of relatively slowly developing MND as me – for 13 years now. I’m 2 years into my MND journey and I found him very inspiring, although I’ll admit the thought that I could be confined to a neurological wheelchair like his in the future is very frightening.

We all enjoyed ourselves, especially when Michael’s wife Jane generously made us a lovely lunch after the shoot.

The Motor Neurone Disease Association helped Michael to get his powered wheelchair. It’s the only national charity in England, Wales and Northern Ireland focused on MND care, research and campaigning and is the charity “26 Miles” is fundraising for. Please help them to help more people affected by MND by DONATING to our Just Giving page or donate via your mobile phone – Text ‘mmnd99 £5.00‘ (or whatever you can afford) to 70070

Links

Motor Neurone Disease Association
The main site of the Motor Neurone Disease Association; the only national charity in England, Wales and Northern Ireland focused on MND care, research and campaigning.

onein400
Really informative and entertaining blog by somebody living with a similar MND to Miles. The title = the estimated risk of getting MND in any one person’s lifetime.

Scooter Shooter
Miles’s street photography taken from his mobility scooter – “I photograph what moves me from the scooter that moves me.”